


or do you not think so far ahead

by slowjam



Category: fifth harmony - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 04:25:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowjam/pseuds/slowjam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Camila is unsure about all of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	or do you not think so far ahead

Camila feels herself finally exhale after her pen leaves the paper.

 

(Okay, so her parents still have to sign it but still)

 

Nomani shoots her a half-smile and squeezes her hand under the table. It's supposed to be comforting, but she can't help but wonder why none of them are beaming like they should be.

 

She watches as Ally loops off her name and slides the stack of papers down the table to the lawyers. The label rep smiles. 

 

"Congratulations, Fifth Harmony. I can already tell this is going to be a great year."

 

She smiles, but she's not sure if it reaches her eyes.

 

The gathering turns into a blur of handshakes, hugs, and camera flashes. Next week is meetings meetings meetings and next month is the studio and she's excited and nervous and overjoyed and terrified all at the same time. She's with the girls and searching her brain for the right psalm when she hears one unified voice call out to the group.

 

"Welcome to the family, ladies!"

 

It's five boys coming in their direction.

 

As expected, Camila's eyes go wide and she almost falls over, with Dinah and Lauren grabbing onto her flailing harms. Also as expected: Everyone and their mom (literally) filming the entire scene. Luckily she's caught her scream in her throat, though she still makes a loud, strangled noise. Once the sound escapes her lips, she turns to Ally, who looks at her with crinkled eyes as she shields her mouth with her hands.

 

The whole room fills with warm laughter. 

 

xx

 

"Is Arin going to like that we're touring with One Direction?"

 

"What?" Normani looks up from her phone and sees Ally tilting her head to the side.

 

Ally says nothing, but smiles through pursed lips and raised eyebrows. Normani puts down her phone.

 

"We're not touring with One Direction," she replies.

 

Normani hears a distinctive screech from the doorway. She crinkles her eyebrows together.

 

"We're doing what with One Direction?" Camila asks as she enters the room, breathless.

 

"Nothing! We're doing nothing."

 

Camila pouts.

 

"Wait. So nobody has actually confirmed or denied anything?" Camila asks as she sits down next to Ally.

 

"Yes, so... it isn't happening," Normani says.

 

"But it isn't _not_ happening."

 

Ally explodes into laughter, resting her hands on Camila's arms. "Okay, seriously though, we aren't," Ally says as she grips onto Camila's forearms and starts shaking. "But wouldn't it be awesome if we were?"

 

Normani thinks she hears an ohmygoshyes from one of them before the conversation erupts into a jumble of flailing and squealing. She goes back to her phone. After a few minutes a calm begins to settle over the two girls. 

 

"Wait, okay, Normani, let me rephrase the question."

 

Normani laughs a little as she sighs, "Alright."

 

"Would Arin like it if we toured with One Direction?"

 

She glances at her text conversation for a moment. "Probably not," she says, swiping out of the screen. "but it's none of his business, anyway."

 

Camila cackles. "So wait, are you saying..."

 

Normani lets out a light huff. "I'm saying that it doesn't matter whether or not he likes it. If it helps us get out there, we're gonna have to do it. That's it." 

 

Normani turns her attention back to her phone. Camila blinks.

 

xx

 

Camila officially pulls out of her high school when they start recording the album. She and Dinah end up having the same tutor, so they start spending more time together. They talk about it sometimes, how they wanted to do the whole prom thing and wear the graduation cap and gown, but those thoughts soon fade after they start humming another chorus from the studio. 

 

Almost every song gets stuck in her head, and with every studio session it seems that the label continues to put more and more weight into their future - there's already been talk of their first radio single. 

 

She figures it's a good sign, but she keeps her student ID in her wallet anyway.

 

xx

 

It's Lauren's idea to do a few stripped down shows. 

 

It's a real shift from the grand-scale productions they used to do on the X-Factor, but for some reason it makes Camila even more nervous. She can see the faces of every single person in the audience. It's almost like Simon's house all over again, if Simon's house was a brick-walled lounge with smug twentysomethings draping themselves over bar stools. 

 

The music blogs end up liking the set, praising the covers and the two original songs, so naturally Camila leaps onto Lauren the next time she sees her and latches on, her fingers mussed in her hair and pressing into the t-shirt on her back.

 

"You are a stupid hipster genius, you know that?" she says into her shoulder.

 

Lauren laughs, shrugging as Camila pulls away. "People just want something that's real, Cams."

 

They share a look before dissolving into giggles.

 

xx

 

Things are getting serious.

 

There are fittings and choreography and set designs and like, she knows it's essentially a county fair tour, but a tour's a tour, right? 

 

(and for the record, what's she's most excited about is the funnel cake)

 

xx

 

They all cry the first time they hear their single on the radio. 

 

Everyone at the label says it's normal, and Camila has no problem saying "thanks" to every "congratulations," though she really just wants to ask if being on the radio ever feels normal, because she hopes it never does. The rush is just too good.

 

xx

 

Everything seems to go five hundred miles an hour after that. 

 

There are shows, album release parties, photoshoots, meetings, vocal lessons, and media training. It's tiring, but Camila figures it must be paying off when her mom applauds the fact that nobody in the group talks over anyone anymore. 

 

She laughs. "I guess we're ready for the big time, then?"

 

xx

 

Lauren, Dinah, Normani, and Ally help Camila turn her question marks into exclamation points. 

 

It's nice.

 

xx

 

By the time their one-year celebration rolls around, a lot has changed. They meet a lot of people, go to new places, and do a bunch of new, reckless things. Their antics drive their manager insane, but Camila wouldn't have it any other way.

 

She giggles a little when she realizes this, when all of them are out of breath and mushed onto a hotel bed in a heap of limbs and ponytails. Sneaking out was hard work, but she's sure they'll get it down eventually.

 

Ally hears Camila's laughter and soon after everyone is laughing, clutching onto arms and throwing pillows. 

 

Camila takes a minute to smile amidst sea of rumpled blankets. She can hear the other girls talking about making a blanket fort that spans both of their rooms. 

Okay. So maybe not a _lot_ has changed, and maybe The Future is still this big, uncertain thing that freaks her out from time to time, but she figures all of that will sort itself out. With all of them working together, they can do anything, from late-night Taco Bell runs to blanket forts.

 

She breahes in and dives into the covers, pulling everyone into her.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a 1D X 5H fic because their parallels still freak me out. Oh well. Hope you liked it!


End file.
